TRENTON — The bad blood between Gov. Chris Christie and allies of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appears to be boiling again.

As Christie visits Florida this weekend for a series of GOP fundraisers, Romney's former finance chair called the New Jersey governor "horrific," according to a report today by The Miami Herald.

"The guy, as a person, is horrific," Brian Ballard, a top Florida fundraiser, told the newspaper.

Christie, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a possible contender for the GOP nomination for president in 2016, is appearing three times this weekend with Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

Ballard said he won't attend any of the events and noted that "90 percent" of other major Romney fundraisers outside of the New York metro region "wouldn't touch Christie with a 10-foot pole right now," the report said.

This isn't the first time Romney's camp has had strong words for Christie. Romney initially considered picking the governor as his running mate in the 2012 presidential election, but his team was concerned about possible "land mines" in Christie's past, as well as his demeanor, according to "Double Down," a book released last year about the 2012 election. Someone from the Romney team apparently leaked information about Christie's vetting to the authors.

In an interview last November, Romney downplayed the claims made in the book and called Christie "one of the strongest lights" in the GOP.

Still, like other Romney allies, Ballard said he resents Christie for praising President Obama's attention to New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, days before the 2012 election, according to the report. Obama defeated Romney in the race.

"What Christie did to Obama isn't suitable to say in a family newspaper," Ballard told the Herald. "I firmly believe he helped swing that election in Obama's favor just to help himself. I busted my ass for two years raising money and supporting Romney, and this guy Christie just wiped his hands of us when we were no longer useful to him."

Ballard said the bridge scandal has lowered his opinion of Christie even further, according to the report.

"Christie probably didn't know his staff was shutting down the George Washington Bridge for political paybacks or whatever," he told the newspaper. "But the fact is, he had people around him thought it was okay. And that speaks to his character."

Mike DuHaime, one of Christie's top advisers, said the governor gave Romney his "earliest major endorsement" and that Christie helped Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, "at a critical time during the primary."

"Most of Gov. Romney's supporters appreciate the early and steadfast support," DuHaime said. "If some donor thinks Gov. Christie should have put politics ahead of helping the people of his state, it is just plain wrong. The worst natural disaster in the history of our state hit killing scores of people in our region, yet critics like this who live 1,000 miles away think Gov. Christie should have been worrying about tracking polls instead saving lives. Gov. Christie will never apologize for putting the people of New Jersey ahead of politics during a time of crisis."

DuHaime added that "the judgment of one of (former Florida Gov.) Charlie Crist's top fundraisers as to what makes a good Republican and what doesn't, is of no concern to me."

Harlan Crow, a real estate developer who hosted a Romney fundraiser at his Dallas home in 2012, told Politico.com that it's "a little understandable that some people would have feelings" about the bridgescandal.

"But I believe most would grasp the larger picture and examine the question from the point of view of the candidate most able to win," Crow told the website. "It seems to me that, in that context, it would be best to put the Christie/Obama/Sandy episode into the past."

Christie and his administration has come under fire in recent weeks over a plan to close local access lanes in Fort Lee to the nation's busiest bridge last September — a move that caused days of heavy traffic for thousands of drivers.

Democrats have accused the administration of shutting the lanes as political retribution because Fort Lee's Democratic mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. Subpoenaed e-mails have shown that one of the governor's top aides knew in advance of the closures, saying it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

Christie — long considered a top candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2016 — has repeatedly denied any personal involvement in the closures, but he fired the aide and has apologized for the matter.